Devices and method for laying out skirtboards



Jan. 2, 1962 R. A. ANTELL 3,015,164

DEVICES AND METHOD FOR LAYING OUT SKIRTBOARDS Filed March 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 9 6 ROBERT A. A/VTELL A T TORNEY Jan. 2, 1962 R. A. ANTELL 3,015,164

DEVICES AND METHOD FOR LAYING OUT SKIRTBOARDS Filed March 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 x 15 I4 '4 g INVENTOR. 11%5 ROBERT A. ANTELL ATTOR EV 3,915,164 EEVEtIEd AND METHGD FGR LAYENG OUT SKHZTBQARDS Robert A. Antell, 12 Boil 8%., Spencer, Mass, assignor of one-third to Frederick G. Anteli and of one-third to Raymond E. Anteli Fiied Mar. 25, 195?, Ser. No. 8%,806 2 Ciaims. (Cl. 33--102) This invention relates to the provision of a novel device and method for laying out the skirtboards of staircases so as to insure accuracy in the cutting thereof.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel device and method for laying out the skirtboards of staircases whereby they may be accurately cut and intimately fitted in position of use in a simple, efficient and economical manner.

Another object is to provide an adjustable device and method for predetermining and accurately establishing, in a minimum of time, the locations and angles of cuts to be formed in skirtboards for staircases.

Another object is to provide an adjustable templet type device which may be used with the assembled stair stringers and risers of a staircase for predetermining the locations and angles of cuts to be formed in either the right or left skirtboards for said staircase and which greatly reduces the usual time required in laying out such skirtboards and which assures extreme accuracy of fit.

Another object is to provide a durable and inexpensive device of the above character.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View of the device embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary face view showing the device in position of use;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the device further illustrating its position of use;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view illustrating the method of using the device in laying out the skirtboard to be cut;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view illustrating a slightly modified form of staircase; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view generally similar to FIG. 2 of a further modification of the invention.

in forming staircases it has been the usual practice to first place the rough stair stringers which have the desired angular portions which constitute the steps of the staircase in position of use and to thereafter secure the risers to the front vertical edges of said angular portions.

The skirtboard to be cut is then placed longitudinally of a side stringer with the lower edge of the skirtboard engaging the upper outer edges of the risers. Each separate portion of the skirtboard to receivethe angular cuts is separately measured and carefully marked on the skirthoard. This procedure was not only very time-consuming but great care had to be taken that the skirtboard be retained in a fixed position during said measuring and marking and that each measurement be accurately made. An error at only one location on the slu'rtboard was sutilcient to render it undesirable for use.

The present invention is, therefore, directed to the provision of a simple and inexpensive device and method for laying out skirtboards whereby all of the above difiiculties and time-consuming measurements are eliminated.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the various views, the device embodying the invention comprises a metallic bar 19 preferably having a U-shaped cross section and i aterateri Jan. 2, 1%62 having a plurality of spaced longitudinal slots 11 therein. The bar it? is of a controlled width and has parallel side edges 12 and 13. The said bar 10 is formed relatively long and is preferably of a length sutlicient to accommodate for the height of an average staircase to be formed. Attached to the said bar it are a plurality of rigid narrow metallic strips 14 each having parallel side edges and a longitudinal slot 15 therein. Suitable bolts or the like 16 each having an enlarged head 17 are extended through said slots 15 and each slot 15 is shouldered to receive said heads so that the outer end surfaces thereof will lie in substanially flush relation with or slightly inwardly of the outer surface 18 of each of said strips as shown best in FIG. 2. The bolts 16 while extending through the slots 15 also extend through the respective slots 11 in the bar it) and are provided with a suitable nut 19 and lock washer '25? whereby the said strips 14 may be retained in adjusted relation with the bar it).

It is pointed out that the slots 15 and the strips 14 are so located and are of a length which will permit the strips to be adjusted a predetermined amount outwardly of each of the opposed side edges 12 or 13 of the bar 1%, depend ing upon the use of the device in forming either a right or left skirtboard. The bar 10 and strips 14 may be formed of aiuminum, steel or any other suitable material, and are of a width less than the width of the bar 13. The strips 14 are preferably provided with ends which are angled in opposite directions to provide pointed portions 25 which form the termination of the side edges of the strips which, in use, are adapted to engage the face of the risers of the staircase. The said pointed portions 25 provide means for determining the location of certain indication points to be described hereinafter and the angled ends afford freedom in the adjusting of the strips 14 to desired angles in the use of the device. The longitudinal slots 11 are of a length and are spaced a controlled distance apart so as to enable the strips 14 to be adjusted relative to each other within a range which will accommodate for the full conventional range of Widths to which stair threads are formed.

in use in laying out 'a skirtboard to be cut, as shown in F-XGS. 3, 4 and 5, the bar 14 after the rough stair stringers 21 and risers 22 have been assembled and are in position of use, is placed longitudinally of the side of the staircase to which the skirtboard is to be cut and fitted, as shown best in FIGS. 3 and 4. A block or other suitable means 23 is secured to the flooring 24 to hold the said bar it) against longitudinal movement. The strips 14 are then adjusted to lie in sidewise engagement with the exposed surface of the respective risers 22 and with the ends 25 thereof engaging the respective horizontal edges 26 of the cut-out angular portions of the stringers which constitute the steps of the staircase and with the lowermost strip 14 engaging the floor.

The lengths of the slots 15 mentioned above are controlled according to the range of different heights to which risers are formed in conventional staircases and are such as to enable the strips to be properly adjusted according to said heights. The adjustment of the strips is accomplished by loosening the wing nuts 19 whereby the position of the respective strips 14 may thereafter be altered,

as described above.v The wing nuts 19 are then tightened to secure the strips 14 in angular relation with the bar lit. This adjustment is made of each of the strips 14 throughout the length of the stringers. The bar 16 and adjusted strips 14 are then placed in superimposed relation with the skirtboard 27 which is to be cut, as shown in FIG. 5.

It is pointed out that the bar 10 is placed in parallel relation with the edge 28 of the stringer which is to be the upper free edge thereof and is further placed a distance 29 below said edge 28 depending upon the height of the stringer which is to be exposed above the steps of the staircase and above the treads which are to be later secured to the horizontal edge portions 26 of the stringers. When in this relation with the skirtboard 27 indi cating marks are placed on the skirtboard at the apex or the obtuse angle of each strip 14- with respect to the lower edge of the bar as indicated at 30. A line 32 is then drawn from said apex along the adjacent edg of each strip 14 to an indicating point 31 formed on the skirtboard at the adjacent lower end of each respective strip 14. A line may be drawn along the lower edge of the bar 10 throughout the length thereof to further aid in establishing the location of the indication marks 30 although this is not essential. The device is then removed from the skirtboard and a line 33 is drawn from each indicating mark 3% as established by the apex of the obtuse angle of each strip 14 relative to the bar lit) to the indicating point 31 of each preceding adjacent strip 14, as indicated by the dash lines.

The skirtboard is then out along said lines 32 and 33 thereby assuring that when said skirtboard is fitted to the stringer and respective risers it will have a very intimate fit therewith and any variations in the thicknesses of the risers, angles thereof, etc., will be compensated for. It is to be understood, of course, that the skirtboard is thereafter trimmed to the proper length to fit the baseboards, if such exist, at the top and bottom of the staircase;

It is pointed out that the location of the upper edge of the bar It} at the desired distance 29 below the upper edge 28 of the skirtboard, plus the width of the bar it) as indicated at 34 establishes the height at which the skirtboard extends above the risers and further these dimensions may be varied in order to control the height to which the said stringer will extend above the threads which are later placed on the horizontal edge portions 26 of the stringers. v 7 It is further pointed out that if the staircase to be formed is or a height greater than the length of the bar 310 of the device, two or more of such devices may be aser] by placing the bars 16 of said respective devices in abuttingend-to-end relation with each other throughout the height of the staircase and in accordance with the length of the skirtboard to be formed. it is further pointed out that if the risers are angled inwardly soas to provide additional toe room, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 6, the said strips 14 will be fitted in intimate side surface relation with said -risers in the same manner as previously described in connecti'on with the vertically extending risers, as shown in FfG. 4, and the laying out and cutting of the skirtboard is carried out in the same manner.

In FIG. 7 there is shown a modification wherein th bolt 16 is provided with a sleeve 35 which is surrounded by a coil spring 36. The sleeve 35 and coil spring 36 are located between the inner surface of the bar 10 and the washer 2h. The coil spring 36 is initially of a length greater than the length of the sleeve so that when the wing hut 19 is loosened the spring will force the washer to a location spaced from the adjacent end of the sleeve 35 and yet will cause the strip 14 to be frictionally held in adjusted position with respect to the bar til. The strips 14 may be adjusted to the angle of the risers 22, as shown in FIG. 4, and will be frictionally held in this location until the wing nuts are thereafter tightened an amount sufficient to force the washers into engagement with the ends of the bushings 35 whereby the strips 114 will be firmly held in adjusted position. This is brought about by the clamping force exerted by the wing nuts on the washers 24 which, in turn, exert said force on the adjacent ends of the bushings 35 to force them into engagement with the inner surface of the bar i This requires compressing the spring 36 by an amount sufficient to bring about the above result. 7

The coil spring 36, therefore, merely functions to yield- .ingly retain the strips 14 against free swinging movemeat on the clamp bolts 16 while making the adjustment of the strips 14 relative to the bar 10 and the risers 22. The use of the device is otherwise similar to that previously described above.

It has been found that the device of the invention and method of laying out skirtboards for cutting, while very simple, greatly reduces the time required in following prior art procedures of laying out skirtboards and greatly reduces the errors and wastage of material common with said prior art procedures. The additional advantages are the elimination of time-consuming measurements and the assurance of greater accuracy in fitting.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that simple, efiicient, durable and inexpensive means have been provided for accomplishing all of the objects and advantages of the invention. Nevertheless, it should be apparent that many changes in the details of construction, arrangement of parts or steps of the method may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A tool for laying out the skirtboards to be fitted with the assembled risers and stringers of a partially completed staircase comprising a single relatively long, slender and straight metallic bar of a fixed length having spaced side walls with flat outer side surfaces in parallel relation with each other and being joined by a base along one of the respective edges of the side surfaces thereof, said base having a fiat outer surface in normal relation with the outer surfaces of said side walls thereby giving said bar a U-shaped cross section, said bar being adapted to be placed in a direction lengthwise of said stringers with one of its side walls extending transversely in engagement with the ends of the risers of said staircase to which a skirtboard is to be fitted, said base having a plurality of substantially uniformly spaced longitudinal slots therein equalling in amount the number of risers to which the skirtboard is to be fitted and of a predetermined length in aligned relation with each other, a plurality of relatively short and slender flat metallic strips of predetermined substantially uniform lengths having parallel opposed side edges, one of each of which is to engage the edge surface of a respective riser, and a shouldered longitudinal slot of a predetermined length in the intermediate portions thereof, said strips being equal in number to said spaced longitudinal slots and having opposed terminal ends, one of which is acutely angled relative to and intersects the side edge of said strip which is to engage a respective riser and the other of said ends being acutely angled relative to and intersecting the other of said side edges to form relatively sharp oppositely directed terminal guage points, said flat metallic strips being positioned with a flat side thereof in transverse overlying relation with the flat outer surface of the base and with their shouldered sides of their longitudinal slots being exposed and a bolt extending through each of th slots of said strips and the respective slots in said bar each having an enlarged head straddling the respective slots in said strips and lying within said shoulders, said bolts further having threaded portions of predetermined lengths such as to extend through the respective slots into the space between the side walls and to have their ends lying within the width of said side walls and a nut on each of said threaded portions dimensionally predetermined so that when tightened for securing the strips in fixed adjusted relation with the bar the said nuts will lie entirely within the width of said side walls.

2. A tool for laying out the skirtboards to be fitted with the assembled risers and stringers of a partially completed staircase comprising a single relatively long, slender and straight metallic bar of a fixed length having spaced side walls with flat outer side surfaces in parallel relation with each other and being joined by a base along one of the respective edges of the side surfaces thereof, said base having a flat outer surface in normal relation with the outer surfaces of said side walls thereby giving said bar a U-shaped cross section, said bar being adapted to be placed in a direction lengthwise of said stringers with one of its side walls extending transversely in engagement With the ends of the risers of said staircase to which a skirtboard is to be fitted, said base having a plurality of substantially uniformly spaced 1ongitudinal slots therein equalling in amount the number of risers to which the skirtboard is to be fitted and of a predetermined length in aligned relation with each other, a plurality of relatively short and slender fiat metallic strips of predetermined substantially uniform lengths having parallel opposed side edges, one of each of which is to engage the edge surface of a respective riser, and a shouldered longitudinal slot of a predetermined length in the intermediate portions thereof, said strips being equal in number to said spaced longitudinal slots and having opposed terminal ends, one of which is acutely angled relative to and intersects the side edge of said strip which is to engage a respective riser and the other of said ends being acutely angled relative to and intersecting the other of said side edges to form relatively sharp oppositely directed terminal guage points, said flat metallic strips being positioned with a fiat side thereof in transverse overlying relation with the fiat outer surface of the base and with their shouldered sides of their longitudinal slots being exposed and a bolt extending through each of the slots of said strips and the respective slots in said bar each having an enlarged head straddling the respective slots in said strips and lying within said shoulders, said bolts further having threaded portions of predetermined lengths such as to extend through the respective slots into the space between the side Walls and to have their ends lying Within the width of said side walls, a sleeve on each of said threaded portions and of a length less than the length of said threaded portions, a coil spring surrounding said sleeve and of a length normally longer than the length of said sleeve, a Washer on said threaded portion normally engaging the adjacent end of the spring and a nut on said threaded portion engaging said washer.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 502,199 Osteman July 25, 1893 538,715 Tozier May 7, 1895 707,307 Doyle Aug. 19, 1902 994,741 Gorenfio June 13, 1911 1,015,242 Owen Jan. 16, 1912 1,015,773 Auger Jan. 30, 1912 1,226,172 Benjamin May 15, 1917 1,465,646 Lough Aug. 21, 1923 2,334,385 Cooper Nov. 16, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 23,939 Great Britain 1898 34,034 Denmark Jan. 2, 1925 23,212 Great Britain Feb. 22, 1934 

